Interim head coach Mike Yeo's Philadelphia Flyers (13-17-7) are in Belmont, NY, on Monday to play Barry Trotz's New York Islanders (11-13-6) at the new UBS Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET (NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic).
This game is the front end of a home-and-home set that will see the venue shift on Tuesday to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. After that, the teams will rematch in New York on Jan. 25 and back in Philly on the afternoon of March 20.
The 2021-22 season began with high hopes for both the Flyers and Islanders but the two teams have massively underachieved.
The Flyers drag a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2) into this tilt, and have yet to win a game in the 2022 calendar year. Philadelphia is coming off hard-fought but ultimately fruitless 3-2 regulation losses to the Boston Bruins (road) and New York Rangers (home).
Due primarily to COVID-related attendance restrictions in Canada, the Islanders' four-game western road trip was postponed. The team ended up idle on the game schedule for 12 days in January. Since returning to game action, the Islanders skated to a 3-2 home win over the New Jersey Devils last Thursday and then were shut out, 2-0, by the visiting Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Here are five things to watch in this game:
5 Things: Flyers @ Islanders
1. Will the Flyers avoid another slow start?
After last Thursday's game in Boston, there was much discussion about the Flyers' need to avoid the type of slow start that put them in a 2-0 hole in the first period. With the Rangers coming off a west coast road trip and returning from California the day before playing the Flyers in Philadelphia, the "fatigue factor" deck seemed to stack in Philadelphia's favor. Instead, the Flyers once again found themselves trailing very early in the game. It took more than 11 minutes into the first period before the Flyers recorded their first shot on goal.
Philly settled in over the latter part of the first period, and got the score evened up. The game went into the third period tied at 1-1. Nonetheless, it was disheartening to see the Flyers once again stumble out of the gates after placing emphasis on answering the bell from the opening faceoff.
In each of the last two games, the Flyers did show some resilience in overcoming early deficits of 1-0 and 2-0 to score the next two goals in both games. The bottom line, however, is what happens by the end of 60 minutes of hockey. Chasing the game early rarely portends victory for the Flyers.
This says it all. When giving up the game's first goal, the Flyers are 2-15-2 this season (compared to 11-2-5 when leading first). When trailing at the end of the first period -- which was the case in Boston but not last game -- the Flyers are 1-11-2.
The Islanders are 2-9-2 when trailing first in a game. When leading at the first intermission, which has only happened in eight of the team's 30 games to date, the Isles are 6-1-1. When trailing at the end of the opening period, New York is 1-9-2.
2. Shift following a GF/GA.
After the Flyers' Cam York (first NHL goal) gave the team a 2-1 lead against the Rangers in the third period of Saturday's game, the team was unable to protect it for even one minute. A mere 37 seconds of game action later, New York scored a counterattacking goal in which a wide-open Filip Chytil ended up with a point-blank goal from the doorstep.
The shift started out promisingly for Philadelphia but after the Rangers gained possession, the Flyers defensive response was severely lacking in execution. There were chances to kill the play in the neutral zone or at the point of entry in the Philadelphia zone but the battles were resoundingly lost. At that point, Flyers skaters were caught above the puck and the single most dangerous Ranger to allow time and space to make a play -- Artemi Panarin -- had free reign.
From there, the Flyers found a way to lose the game in regulation. Hart's stick was accidentally knocked out of his hands by teammate Claude Giroux, the Rangers got two forwards to the netfront area, and Chris Kreider's re-direct of an Adam Fox point shot ended up going where Hart would normally be able to seal off the shot if he'd had his goalie stick and his rhythm hadn't been disrupted.
Whatever could go wrong, did. In a season where Murphy's Law has been a near constant, the Flyers ended up with zero points. The Islanders can relate, because it's also been that kind of season for themselves. They've often been their own worst enemies in critical situations where they absolutely could not afford to miss the mark in their execution.
3. Inside the Numbers.
The Flyers' offense this season has been sporadic. In terms of goal scoring, the team started out hot. Then it had a massive dry spell that lasted seven weeks. The offense came alive again after the head coaching change from Alain Vigneault to Yeo. Of late, however, the team's offensive output has been modest again.
So far in January, the Flyers have only scored more than two goals once in the six games played to date. The exception was a 6-3 loss to the LA Kings on Jan. 1. Even in that game, however, the Flyers didn't tally their third goal until late in the third period when they'd been trailing 5-2.
For the season, the Flyers have averaged a modest 2.54 goals per game (tied for 26th in the NHL).
Meanwhile, the Islanders' offense has been moribund for nearly the entire season. The team ranks 8th in goals against average (2.70), which is one of the near-constants of a Trotz-coached team. Normally, an NHL club can overcome a below-average offensive output and still be a playoff team. However, the Islanders' offense hasn't been simply below average; it's been nearly invisible in far too many of the team's losses.
New York enters this game averaging a mere 2.23 goals per game. Although the team has only yielded 54 goals at 5-on-5 to date, they are still at minus-10 because the Islanders have tallied just 44 times with both teams at full strength. The Flyers are minus-14 (64 GA/ 78 GA) in 5-on-5 play.
Things have only gone slightly better on the power play for the Islanders. They bring the NHL's 21st-ranked success rate (18.3 percent) into the game. Philly comes in ranked 25th (16.3 percent).
4. Behind Enemy Lines: New York Islanders
Trotz and hard-shooting defenseman Ryan Pulock were both placed in COVID-19 protocol on Jan. 11. Associate coach Lane Lambert filled in for Trotz in the team's last two games.
Mathew Barzal is the lone Islanders to post at least 20 points (7g, 15a for 22 points in 26 games played). Oliver Wahlstrom, who was Joel Farabee's frequent linemate in the US National Team Development program, is second on the Islanders this season with 15 points (7g, 8a). Anders Lee and Brock Nelson, with 10 goals apiece, are the only two Islanders to reach double-digit goals so far this season.
Ilya Sorokin (9-7-5, 2.43 GAA, .925 SV%, 3 shutouts) has appeared in 21 games in net for the Islanders. Veteran countryman Semyon Varlamov (2-6-1, 2.59 GAA, .917 SV%) has made 10 appearances.
5. Players to Watch: Lindblom and Lee
Oskar Lindblom has had a recent surge of seemingly restored confidence. Before that, he experienced considerable on-ice struggles for a calendar-year plus following his NHL return from a bout with a form of bone cancer (Ewing Sarcoma). Over his last 11 games, Lindblom has notched nine points (4g,5a) and is plus-six over that span.
Islanders captain Anders Lee missed much of last season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The Flyers have often struggled to contain the big winger down low in the offensive zone. Lee heated up in December 2021 and put together a stretch in which he had at least one point in seven of eight games including six goals and two assists.
The Islanders' January hiatus cooled Lee off a bit, as he did not get on the scoresheet in either of the two games since the team returned to pay. However, he had five shots on goal over the last two games and it's only a matter of time until the pucks start going in the net when he's entrenched around the netfront area.
